Herpes and/or staph infection?

[eastflower]

I'm a 52 year old female virgin. I have oral herpes - got my first cold sore on my lips in my 40s. I had two violent sexual attacks on me before the age of 10, one involved an attempted rape, but the man could not penetrate me and gave up as someone was coming. My only consensual sexual activity, in my early 20s, was some touching with an older married man - no vaginal intercourse, and the whole thing was pretty limited and scary for me. Now, after 20+ years of therapy, I finally have come to accept that I do have sexual feelings and that's okay. So, in preparation for sex with a man I like, I talked to my gyno about these recurring sores I have had for several years on my labia. I was convinced that I had given myself herpes by touching my lip and then my privates. (Or, more horrifying to me, that I got it from one of my attackers and it had been dormant all those years.) She looked at it, said possibly, swabbed the spot. I waited in a total panic for two days. She called and said the test was negative, and that I probably had a staph infection. My question is - is it possible for a swab test to I'm come back negative because the sore she touched just wasn't the correct spot? I had several painful places starting a day or two before I got in to see her. She definitely swabbed a painful spot - but it was a little lower than where I typically get sore. I feel paranoid - I would never want to give herpes to somebody and I'm trying to do the right thing. Is it possible to have both at the same time? My gyno. is wonderful and I'm sure experienced, but I don't know, everything I've read seems to point to herpes. I get the sores right around my period - not every month but a fair amount - and they vary in painfulness. Do I accept the test results, or is there something else I should do? If I get a blood test, it will show the oral herpes, but then that doesn't tell me if I have that virus on my genitals. Thanks for any information you can give me.

[2Legit2Quit]

Well it's possible for false negative swabs, especially if not swabbed w in 48hrs of onset. The best option would likely to get an IgG type specific Elisa blood test. I doubt you gave it to yourself, but if you want to put your mind at ease, those are the options.

 

Really sorry about your past. That's horrific and I'm glad you're in the mend. You deserve to be loved.

[WCSDancer2010]

Your Dr should have offered you the blood test - if it comes back positive for HSV1, odds are it's just on your lip and that the issues on your labia is something else. But it *could* be HSV2 ... yes you can have both (I do... got HSV1 oral as a kid and HSV2 genital on my first sexual experience... )

 

That said, you need to get educated about STD's for both your partners and your health... most people are woefully ignorant.... but to be honest, if we are at all sexually active, odds are we ALL will have something (HSV, HPV, whatever) by our age (I'm 54). So while you are a virgin, there's always a chance you *could* have got something from your attacker and I applaud you for being responsible around this.... AND ... whatever the result, I hope you keep moving forward with your healing and working towards a wonderful and fulfilling relationship filled with lots of great sex!

 

http://projectaccept.org/who-gets-hsv/

 

Handouts + disclosure e-book:

https://www.herpesopportunity.com/lp/ebook

Herpes facts video

 

[eastflower]

Thank you, 2Legit2Quit and WCSDancer2010 for your kind responses. No matter what my herpes status is, it is so good to see so many people looking out for each other. Thank you, Arial.